Is there an AGP 8X GeForce4 Ti 4600?

In the wake of reports that NVIDIA has halted production of Geforce4 Ti 4600 chips comes an article over at AnandTech that claims new AGP 8X versions of the GeForce4 Ti 4600 and 4400 are coming before the end of the year:

For starters we have the GeForce 4 Ti 4800, but don't let the name excite you - the card is nothing more than a GeForce4 Ti 4600 with AGP 8X support. Even more disappointing is that there's talk of a GeForce4 Ti 4800-SE that runs at the same clock speed as the current-gen Ti 4400 but with AGP 8X support.

A GeForce4 Ti 4800 could fill the gap between the current Geforce4 Ti 4200 with AGP 8X and whatever high-end NV30 offerings NVIDIA actually has available after Comdex.. However, with reports and rumors suggesting that NV30 really won't be available until next year, new Ti 4800s should give NVIDIA fanboys at least a couple of holiday buying choices.

If the GeForce4 Ti 4800 does indeed exist, that may suggest that it will be a while before we see mid-range NV30 products competing with ATI's newly announced Radeon 9500, 9500 Pro, and 9700. That should give ATI the edge, at least for mid-range products, as soon as their new cards hit the market.